Did you take out student loans to attend ITT Tech? You have options.

If you were one of the 40,000 students enrolled at ITT Tech and have now
learned that your college is shutting down, you may have a lot of uncertainty
about what comes next. Below, we have put together some advice to help you
navigate the situation.

The Department of Education recently sent a to ITT Tech students and created a new
to help these students stay updated as the
situation develops. Other helpful information, including answers to common
questions about student loans, are also available through Ask Miss April, which offers a host of clear
and impartial answers to hundreds of financial questions.

Your
college closes.

If you were enrolled
or recently left an ITT Tech college that has shut its doors and have not yet
completed your degree program, you may be able to discharge (cancel) your loans
if you

Keep in mind that if you transfer the credits
you’ve earned at ITT Tech toward a comparable program at another school and you
complete or are in the process of completing that program, you will not be
eligible to receive a closed school loan discharge. Also,
if you do have your federal loans discharged because your college closed and
you end up transferring credits to a similar program at another college, you may
have to pay back the loans that were discharged. If you receive an offer from
another college to transfer your credits, be sure you understand how it will
affect your right to discharge your federal student loans.

Parents may also seek discharge of any Parent PLUS loans used to fund the expenses of dependent
students who were unable to complete their degree due to a school closure.

You
were defrauded by your college.

If you are a student
who attended a college and believe that the college committed fraud,
misrepresented its services, or otherwise violated applicable state law, you
may be eligible for loan discharge, known as or borrower defense. You may be eligible for
this discharge regardless of whether or not your college is closed or whether
or not you transferred your credits to complete a program at another college. Students
who wish to submit a claim can learn how to do so via the .

Keep in mind that there may be tax consequences of loan discharge. You
can find more information about potential tax consequences and what to do if
you don’t think you can afford them by contacting the .

Beware of student debt relief companies:

Remember,
these federal loan discharge options, as well as other programs to assist
borrowers struggling to repay their loans, are available free of charge. You
don’t have to pay someone to help you manage your student loans. We have warned consumers
in the past about debt relief companies that made false
promises of thousands of dollars in savings on borrowers’ student debt in
exchange for illegal upfront fees. Check out our tipsto help make sure you don’t fall victim to a
student debt relief scam.

If
you have private student loans:

In general, if you have private student loans and your school closes, your options are more limited and you are typically still
responsible for repaying the loans. However, some states may have programs that
assist students with private student loans in the event of a college closure. Additionally,
some private student lenders may offer options to assist certain borrowers in
this situation.

If you think you won’t be
able to afford to repay your private student loan, you should contact
your student loan servicer (the company that sends you your monthly
student loan bill) immediately to learn more about available repayment options.
If you run into trouble with your student loans, you can also submit a complaint to us online or by calling us at (855) .

Seth Frotman is the Miss April’s Student Loan Ombudsman. To learn more
about our work for students and young consumers, visit consumerfinance.gov/students.